What’s the official definition of being poor in America?

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Recently issued federal poverty guidelines establish the 2012 definition of poverty in America.Bottom line, it’s easier this year than last for families to qualify as poor and thus be eligible for state and federal government assistance programs, at least from the standpoint of income.The down side? The U.S. Census last year reported an 11 percent increase in the cost of living in Minneapolis.This year a hypothetical family of one adult and two children making an annual income of $19,090 or less is now officially poor, compared to the 2011 definition of poor for that family being $18,530.Community Sketchbook focuses on the economic and social challenges facing communities, especially low-income communities and communities of color, and how people are trying to address them. It is made possible by support from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, The Minneapolis Foundation, and some Minneapolis Foundation donor advisors.Community Sketchbook articles may be republished or distributed, in print or online, with credit to MinnPost and the foundations.To put that in perspective, realize it figures out to one adult earner working full time for $9.17 an hour — about the cost of three tall lattes from Starbucks.Further, for a family of four, one or two parents and children, the poverty guideline announced late last month sets an annual income of $23,050. Last year it was $22,350.The federal definition establishes eligibility rules for federal public assistance programs, like TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families), which replaced AFDC (Aid to Families with Dependent Children) in 1997. TANF money goes to the states to help pay for food and housing and other basic needs for the poor.MFIP, the Minnesota Family Investment Program, is Minnesota’s version of TANF.The U.S. guidelines serve as a benchmark for the states in determining who qualifies for their public assistance programs. In most states, if families exceed the poverty level income they lose their benefits.Current Minnesota law, however, allows families to earn up to 115 percent of poverty and still receive cash benefits through MFIP.But a proposed bill now before the House Health and Human Services Reform Committee would cut off benefits such as MFIP at 100 percent of poverty, explains Jessica L. Webster, staff attorney for the Legal Services Advocacy Project.She and other advocates for the poor oppose such a measure.Webster recalls that when MFIP was piloted in 1994 to 1997 persons were allowed to earn up to 140 percent of the poverty guideline. Continue Reading

Helping Minnesota’s homeless kids: Studying services that work

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The negative effects of homelessness on kids are well-known. In school, homeless children are absent more frequently and tend not to do as well academically. Outside school, because of dangerous living environments and traumatic family experiences, their families are more likely to be involved with child welfare authorities.But put them and their troubled families into supportive housing and life generally gets better for these children, according to a study released this week by a network of supportive housing programs and the University of Minnesota.The study is notable in part because of the proportion of children among the homeless in Minnesota. The most recent and highly regarded Wilder Research Center homeless count in October 2009 found that the more than 3,200 children counted made up 34 percent of the homeless in the state. Almost two-thirds of homeless persons of all ages were people of color.Community Sketchbook focuses on the economic and social challenges facing communities, especially low-income communities and communities of color, and how people are trying to address them. Continue Reading

Poverty workers saw rise in need first

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The U.S. Census Bureau made it official this year, though a lot of people have known for a long time that the numbers of the needy in Minnesota were rising.The people who run emergency food pantries, house the homeless and educate our kids were telling us so.Schools personnel told of children and their families living in cars and kids coming to school hungry. Emergency food providers told of jobless folks who once donated to emergency food shelves now packing up bags of groceries to bring home. Housing providers told of the need for more shelter space. Government officials pointed to vacant houses and soaring numbers of the poor in suburban cities.Community Sketchbook focuses on the economic and social challenges facing communities, especially low-income communities and communities of color, and how people are trying to address them. It is made possible by support from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, The Minneapolis Foundation, and some Minneapolis Foundation donor advisors.Community Sketchbook articles may be republished or distributed, in print or online, with credit to MinnPost and the foundations.But Census numbers quantified and legitimized other surveys and everyday observations: 2011 was a year in which more and more Minnesotans entered the ranks of the poor and near poor, putting stress on people and institutions throughout the state.This fall U.S. researchers reported that 10.8 percent of Minnesotans fall at poverty level or less, up from 9.6 percent in 2007-08 before the recession. Continue Reading

What’s the cost of letting the poor go hungry?

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Society’s cost for helping the poor has long been monetized, though usually in terms of payouts for such things as financial aid for children and other nutritional assistance.But in these recessionary times of increased poverty in Minnesota and across the nation, there is another way of looking at the costs of hunger: the broader price borne by both individuals and society if its citizens go hungry.Such expenses include paying for medical and mental health problems related to food deficiencies as well as such services as special education classes in schools.Community Sketchbook focuses on the economic and social challenges facing communities, especially low-income communities and communities of color, and how people are trying to address them. It is made possible by support from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, The Minneapolis Foundation, and some Minneapolis Foundation donor advisors.Community Sketchbook articles may be republished or distributed, in print or online, with credit to MinnPost and the foundations.Considered from that point of view, the cost of hunger in Minnesota is estimated conservatively to be at least $1.26 billion and as higher or higher than $1.62 billion a year, according to a report from the University of Minnesota Food Industry Center that was written for Second Harvest Heartland in late 2010.A newer, national study pushes costs even higher. Released in October by the progressive Center for American Progress in cooperation with Brandeis University, that study estimates Minnesota’s hunger price tag in terms of higher health care costs and poorer education comes to $2.25 billion a year. Their figures are higher in part because the center includes among costs the value of charitable food donations.That Center for American Progress study puts the national cost of letting people go hungry or under-nourished at $167.5 billion.The consequences”This is a condition that does have actual consequences,” says Elton Mykerezi, author of Minnesota’s “Cost/Benefit Hunger Impact Study” and an assistant professor of applied economics at the University of Minnesota. The study’s co-author is Jean Kinsey, a professor emeritus in the same department.Hunger “predisposes” people to physical health problems, psychological and social dysfunction, increased health care costs and lower productivity in the labor force, according to the landmark Minnesota study.”Eliminating these costs will save taxpayer money, help lower the state budget deficit, decrease health care costs, and increase the health and welfare of millions of Minnesotans,” Kinsey blogged last year about the report, which was underwritten by Target.Mykerezi’s numbers are “very conservative, very careful, with the highest level of certainty,” says Second Harvest Heartland Vice President R. Newell Searle in praising the study.Given the increased numbers of the hungry, Mykerezi concedes the costs would be higher today than the study indicates.Specific hunger effectsIncluded among the long and serious list of detrimental health effects among youths experiencing ongoing or reoccurring hunger are: iron deficiencies affecting cognitive and physical development, increased depression and suicide among teens, more anti-social behavior, lower math scores and a greater need for special education services in schools.Hungry pregnant women are at higher risk of giving birth to underweight babies or children with birth defects. Continue Reading

Report shows demand for services for poor rising in Twin Cities

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Around the Twin Cities, the need for help with the necessities of life is rising.In the Minneapolis area, requests for emergency food assistance this year rose 15 percent over last year’s numbers and spiked 14 percent for emergency housing.In St. Paul, at food pantries and free kitchens, as well as homeless shelters, people have at times been turned away because resources were exhausted.Such reports put the Twin Cities in the same social-service boat as most of the 29 cities responding to the United States Conference of Mayors 2011 Status Report on Hunger and Homelessness released Thursday.Community Sketchbook focuses on the economic and social challenges facing communities, especially low-income communities and communities of color, and how people are trying to address them. It is made possible by support from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, The Minneapolis Foundation, and some Minneapolis Foundation donor advisors.Community Sketchbook articles may be republished or distributed, in print or online, with credit to MinnPost and the foundations.Eighty-six percent of the cities report increased calls for food, with an average increase of 15.5 percent. The survey also shows an average 10 percent increase in number of pounds of emergency food distributed, though the conference says the survey should not be taken as a national assessment of the problems of hunger and homelessness.Ranging in size from Asheville, N.C., to Washington, D.C., the cities are all members of the conference. The nation’s official poverty level of 15.1 percent in 2010 reflects the highest level recorded in the 52 years of such data collection.”Like other parts of the country, the economy is just dragging things down. Continue Reading